BROOKFIELD — Just because you can't see doesn't mean you can't practice archery.
“Not only am I a blind archer, I’m a blind mother."
That's Jasmine Vandiver. She went blind about 10 years ago.
“I was a victim of a very heinous crime, so that’s how I lost my sight.”
She is taking inspiration from archery to continue living life to the fullest.
“You know, how the arrow flows, I think that's how life should be. It should always be moving forward, not being stagnant or complacent," she said.
Vandiver is part of a group of blind archers that practice at West Town Archery in Brookfield. There are about six people who are part of the group.
“I believe it gives them a chance to be competitive, it gives them a chance to do something that nobody thought they could do," instructor Lyle Maryniak said.
He came up with the idea with his friend Dan Smars in 2017. Smars approached Maryniak asking to try out archery.
“And I looked over at him and said Dan, your nickname is Blind Dan," Maryniak joked.
But then after a bit of talking, they came up with a way to make it happen. Five years later, Smars has become a big fan of archery. It's an outlet for him.
"You can’t do certain things a certain way, so now you have to find a different way to do them. That’s all it comes down to," he said.
He has a disease that slowly reduced his vision until he became blind. He didn't want to let that stop him from enjoying life. If he wanted to try something, he would. That attitude helps him keep his spirits high. He said that most people don't realize he is blind until they ask him certain questions.
“You didn’t ask me what my favorite color is," Smars said.
“What is your favorite color?" TMJ4 Reporter James Groh asked.
“Doesn’t matter. I’m blind," Smars said with a smile.
But all jokes aside, what these athletes are doing is proving that anything is possible.
“It’s all about choices. We have just choices in life, and you can either choose to sit there or get up and do some archery," Jasmine Vandiver said.
You can even watch them compete at the annual Wisconsin Highland Games at the Waukesha Expo Center during the summer.
